A Yummy Fall Dinner

A little inspiration from everywhere, including my dad. Thanks Dad! This recipe has flavorful rice, moist chicken, savory apples and delicious veggies. I'm eating leftovers today,which is all thrown together and it tastes great that way too!

Chicken  - I eyeballed measurements, so I hope it's close!
4 Chicken Thighs
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp water
1/2 C bread crumbs
1/4 C fresh Parmesan cheese
1 T paprika
1 t garlic salt

Pre-heat oven to 350 deg. Spray cookie sheet with Pam. Pre-heat skillet with oil over medium heat. Pat chicken dry. In one bowl mix egg and water. In another bowl mix bread crumbs, cheese, paprika, salt. Dip chicken, one at a time, in egg then in bread mixture. Coating well. Brown in skillet. The chicken will not be cooked through. We want to seal the chicken in the crusty bread. Transfer chicken to cookie sheet. Bake for 30 minutes.

Rice -change amount of rice as needed
2 C water
1 C rice
1 T chicken bouillon

Bring water to a boil in a pot that has a cover. Add bouillon and rice. Bring temperature to Low and cover. Let sit on Low heat for 20 minutes.

Apples
4 medium apples (we used a red apple good for baking)
1/4 C brown sugar (more or less to taste)
2 t Ground Cinnamon (more or less to taste)

Pre-heat oven to 350 deg. Core and slice apples. We did not peel them, but you can if you or your kids don't like the skin. Place apple slices, sugar, and cinnamon in a bowl. Toss to coat. Place apples on baking dish and bake for about 30 minutes. Serve warm. ** this also fills your house with a wonderful smell! You may want to do more apples late in the afternoon and get this done first, prior to the chicken so you can snack while you cook.....Yes, I'm that bad**

Vegetables
I cheated. Grab a bag or two of steam in the microwave veggies. Pour cooked veggies in a bowl, serve.

Kid food on a stick

I am going to try my best! I made this up last night.

Cheeseburger Meatballs

1 lb ground beef (meat)

1/3 C bread crumbs

1/3 C shredded cheese ~ eyeball it. You want enough in the mixture, but not too much to where oils from the cheese is pouring out (I used mozzarella last night)

1 t parsley

1 egg

**note** you can add any flavoring to these meatballs. W-Sauce, spices, Montreal Steak flavoring - whatever you typically add to your burgers when you grill them.

Garlic Toast

Either bake at 350 deg for about 25 min or until cooked or skewer them and cook them on the gill.

Either serve garlic toast or take a baguette, slice it length-wise. Cut into cubes. Spread butter and garlic salt on bread. Toast or skewer and grill until butter is melted.

Dilly Cheesy Veggies

2 C vegetables, cooked and drained

1/4 C velveeta (yes, I cheated. You can make homemade cheese sauce too)

1 t Dill mix (dill, onion powder, garlic powder)

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl over medium heat until cheese is melted. Serve.

Another fun item to make instead of the garlic toast: Cheeseburger noodles.

1/2 box any type of noodles: fun shapes are best for kids

ketchup

mustard

cheese

Cook pasta as directed on box. Drain. Mix in ketchup, mustard and cheese until cheese is all melted. Serve with meatballs on top (if you want, you can omit the cheese from the meatballs if you're adding cheese to the pasta)

Yes, I realize this whole thing is full of cheese. I must have been in a cheesy mood!

Simply Delicious Strawberry Cake

Thank you Paula Deen! Yes, it is strawberry season.....and Valentines Day is around the corner, so is my 5 year anniversary. For me, a trifecta. Let your kids help pour ingredients into the bowl. Have them break one egg at a time into a smaller bowl (catching any shell pieces before they go into the cake) and then pour each egg into the large bowl. They can decorate the end cake with their strawberry pieces.

Cake Ingredients:

1 box white cake mix

1 (3 oz) box strawberry instant gelatin

15 oz pkg frozen strawberries in syrup, thawed and pureed

4 Lg eggs

1/2 C vegetable oil

1/4 C water

Cream Cheese Icing Ingredients:

1/4 C butter, softened

8 oz cream cheese, softened

10 oz pkg frozen strawberries in syrup, thawed and pureed

1/2 t strawberry extract (if you can't find this try vanilla)

7 C confectioners' sugar (powdered sugar)

Fresh strawberries - washed, sliced for garnish: optional

Preheat overn to 350 deg. Lightly grease 2 9" round cake pans.

In a large bowl, combine cake mix and gelatin. Add pureed strawberries, eggs, oil and water; beat on med speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Pour into prepared pans, and bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pans, and cool completely on wire racks.

For the frosting:

In a large bowl, beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed until creamy. Beat in 1/4 C of the strawberry puree and extract. (keep the rest of the puree for smoothies or top for ice-cream) Gradually add sugar, beating until smooth.

Place your bottom piece of cake on a plate or wherever you will serve it from. Ice the top of the cake. Place the second cake on top of the first. Ice the sides and top of the cake. If your bottom cake is rounded on top, you may want to shave a little off the top so the top cake will sit nicely on the bottom cake. Garnish with fresh strawberries and serve.

Chicken Parmesan

I threw this dinner together last night and it came out so good! I'll try to put down measurements to the best of my ability.....it's all in the head.

1/2 C bread crumbs

1/2 C Parmesan cheese, divided

1/2 t each: (any Italian herbs) oregano, parsley, basil

2 Eggs

4 chicken breast, patted dry

1 jar marinara/spaghetti sauce

1 C Mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350 deg F. In a rectangle container beat eggs well. In another container mix first three ingredients (using 1/4 C Parmesan cheese). Dip chicken into egg, then into dry mixture. Place in a rectangle baking dish and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until juices run clear and chicken is crusty but not burnt. Pour sauce over chicken and top with Mozzarella cheese and remaining Parmesan cheese. Place back in oven for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.

You can serve this dish with pasta.

Chicken Tenders

I love Bisquick. I grew up with the box and just love the taste. Last night I couldn't think of what to make for dinner. I've honestly been slacking in that department. But, that's motherhood. So I looked to see what I had and saw the box of Bisquick. I thought, "eh, there might be an easy, fast recipe on the box", so I looked. This is what I found, made and loved! Scott, 3, helped make dinner last night and he had fun doing it too. You could have up to 4 kids help make this (assembly line) or 1 as I did.

2/3 C Bisquick

1/2 C Parmesan Cheese

1/2 t Garlic Salt

1/2 t Paprika

1 Egg

3 Chicken Breast - slice into 1/2" strips

3 T butter, melted

Preheat oven to 450 deg F. Mix first four ingredients in a bowl. In a separate bowl beat egg. Line cookie sheet with aluminum foil and spray with Pam. Dip chicken strip into egg, to coat, then coat in Bisquick mixture. Place on sheet. Repeat steps until all the chicken is on the sheet. Sprinkle butter over chicken. (Careful, the butter may smoke up your oven) Bake for 12-14 minutes.

You can serve with your favorite dip or eat plain. Feel free to add any other spices you may like. This one is kid-flavored but you may add any kind of pepper, chili powder, onion powder, or any other spice you like.

I served this with Harvard Beets and Baked Beans.

Greek Style Devil Eggs

Thank you to my friend, Kristen, for sharing this one with me! I love this recipe!! Nuff said.

12 hard-boiled eggs (sliced in half)

2/3 cup mayonnaise

2 TBSP crumbled feta cheese

2 tsp. minced fresh oregano (I use dried oregano in a pinch)

½ tsp. minced onion

½ tsp. garlic powder

Salt and pepper

½-1 tsp. vinegar, to taste

Blend egg yolks and all ingredients thoroughly with a fork, adding enough vinegar to make the mixture smooth, but firm.

Spoon or pipe mixture back into egg whites and top with additional oregano if desired.